Through sorrow and fog, Arthur is the key
by CaptainCloudWolf
Summary: AU fanfiction, where Merlin loses his memory first, and Arthur and Merlin have to help each other remember. Set on a college campus somewhere in America.


Merlin, Chapter 1

Merlin stayed. Arthur left and Merlin stayed. He watched the boat sail away and knew the life he had lived was over. But he picked himself up and went back to Camelot. It was all Merlin had of Arthur now, the place he had loved. So Merlin stayed and watched over Camelot, over Albion until not even Merlin could keep it together anymore. After Camelot fell Merlin wandered, looking for something to do and some purpose to his life. He had no idea when Arthur would be back, if he would be back at all. He stopped aging at 23, but could use his magic to make himself age along with everyone else. Then he would "die" and move somewhere else.

Merlin worked every job he could think of, did everything that interested him until there was nothing left that was interesting. There were days when Merlin sat and did nothing, just stared at a glass of water in front of him, thinking of Arthur. Until one day, Merlin realized he could no longer remember Arthur's voice. It had been around four centuries, and Merlin was scared. He spent a week in isolation alternating between crying, shouting, using his magic to try and bring Arthur back, and using his magic to destroy things. He was the only one left now, even Kilgarrah had died a century back. Eventually Merlin went back to his lives, where he tried and failed to find things that would hold his attention for longer than a year. After so long, a year was nothing. Five centuries later and Merlin could no longer remember Arthur's face. Three more centuries and Merlin couldn't remember any of his friends. He had forgotten Arthur, all of his friends, his reason for being alive. Suicide didn't work for him. Magic just brought him back. Merlin was so far gone in his loneliness that he didn't even notice when he stopped using magic.

He lived as an old man, no need for company, no need for food. Even when Merlin gave up on magic, it had not given up on him. The world began to speed up, more interesting things were invented, things like airplanes and cell phones. Merlin didn't notice. His neighbors noticed Merlin and put him in a nursing home, but then he was forgotten about as magic hid that Merlin didn't age. He was treated like another patient, but no one remembered his name or his face. Merlin didn't care. He was lost to misery. He had no memory of his magic, why he was here, why he didn't age, or why he didn't die. All he knew was he was sad, and something was missing. Something important.

One day, Merlin awoke with a jolt. Something was different, something he needed to remember. Merlin strained his mind as to why today he would be jolted awake from his wheelchair but he couldn't remember and his mind was soon lost to the clouds of centuries once again.

 _Arthur_

Arthur bounced on his heels, waiting for the bus to pick him up. Today was the day his grade was going to the nursing home! He had been waiting all year, and had been practicing his chorus songs like every other first grader in his class. The others weren't as excited about singing in front of a bunch of old people, but Arthur was. It was his first concert! Plus, old people always had the best stories to tell. The bus stopped at his school, and the grade piled on, with Arthur at the front. He had always been a natural leader, though exactly where he was leading his friends had gotten Arthur into trouble already in his short life. Right behind Arthur was Leon, his oldest friend. Then was Gwaine, Percival, Lancelot, Elyon, the rest of the class, and all the way at the back, Morgana and Gwen. Arthur would have been happier with Gwen at the front, but Morgana wanted to be at the back and Morgana got what she wanted. Gwaine noticed Arthur looking at Gwen and immediately started teasing him, ignoring Arthur's protests of girls being gross all the way to the nursing home.

The song went perfectly, and afterwards the teacher told all the kids to go talk to the people in the nursing home, reminding them to be well behaved for she was watching them. Arthur was drawn to an old man in the corner, sitting in a wheelchair and staring at the wall.

"Sir? Um Mister Sir? My name is Arthur. What's your name?"

"Do you have a name? Mister Sir?"

Arthur impatiently reached out to tap the man, and when he did he felt a shock run through his body. He jumped back and ran to grab a nurse, but when Arthur brought the nurse over she didn't seem to notice the man.

"Oh yes, that's one of our patients." She said.

"But what is his name? I felt a shock, is he okay?"

"His name? I guess I don't know. Oh well."

With that, the nurse walked away. Arthur was surprised, he thought nursing homes were supposed to take care of old people. He wanted to go back to the man, but his class was leaving without him.

"Come on Arthur, the bus is leaving," shouted Gwen.

"Get over here," Morgana ordered.

Arthur turned and ran back to his teacher, the old man forgotten for the moment.

Years passed and Arthur's class came back to the same nursing home in 8th grade. Arthur was surprised to see the old man still sitting in a wheelchair, staring at the wall. He hadn't aged a day. It seemed like Arthur was the only one who really saw him, noticed how alone and sad he was. Arthur sat down next to the man and started to talk to him, well, more like at him.

"Hello again, I barely remember you. I saw you, in 1st grade. You haven't changed. Would you like to hear about my day?"

Arthur glanced at the man, and started to talk.

From that day on, Arthur was back every day. He told the man about his day or his weekend. He asked him for help on his homework, advice on football practice, how to deal with his dad being so overbearing and controlling. He told the man about his mother dying when Arthur was born, about his crush on Gwen, how his half-sister seemed to hate him. Arthur eventually learned that the man's name was Merlin, though it took almost a year of going to the nursing home before anyone remembered the man's name. He told Merlin about the trouble he had gotten into with Gwaine and Leon, the parties he had thrown with all of his other friends. Merlin learned about Arthur's first kiss in 9th grade, and his heartbreak in 11th when Gwen left him for Lancelot. Arthur was at the nursing home after his first win as the high school quarterback, and Arthur still made it to see Merlin when he broke his collarbone in sophomore year. Arthur filled out college applications at the home, and Merlin was the first one to know when Arthur got into the college he wanted. It wasn't Uther's first choice, but it was Arthur's favorite and he was going there.

Arthur was going to double major in business and photography. He couldn't shake Uther's influence just yet, but Arthur was going to be a photographer. That had always been his dream, and now college was letting him chase after it. The only problem was that Arthur had to be away from Uther, which meant away from Merlin as well.

"Merlin? I'm leaving now. I have to go away from a few months, but then I'll be back, I promise."

For the first time, it looked like Merlin actually saw him.

"Arthur?" he whispered, "Please don't leave me again" he begged. "I can't lose you again, I can't." Tears were streaming down his face

Arthur was torn between joy that Merlin had seen him and worry over leaving him like this.

"Shh, it's okay I'll be back, I promise I'll be back. And what do you mean again? I never left."

"Please don't leave, I can't, I can't"

"Merlin the bus will leave without me, I have to go. Don't worry, it's okay, I'll be back. I didn't think you even noticed me, you haven't even looked up ever since I've been here. It's okay, I promise."

No matter what Arthur said, Merlin didn't stop crying, and didn't stop muttering "I can't". Finally, Arthur just had to leave.

"I hope you will be okay my friend" he said quietly.

"What was that?" that bus driver barked.

"Nothing, just worried about a friend."

"Well get moving, the bus doesn't wait for you. Busy schedule."


End file.
